‘The mask was to be one of his challenges as were some othersthat didn’t come to pass. The final challenge was the temple. Iknew he would work out how to get into it as long as he had thetools. So I sent Goth to help. Ishteth arranged with the littlepeople to help as well.’
‘Let me understand this correctly. The little people were apart of it as well. Of course that’s how they got the mask ofchaos!’
‘Yes. We planned something different altogether with the maskbut once it got free it had its own agenda. I feel quite guiltyabout all the people it killed.’
‘In fact right from the start things didn’t go as planned. Isuspect his father had planned some adventures to toughen him up aswell.’
‘When you joined up with him I knew the Lady was suspiciousand so was Lithgala as she stepped in and removed her precious sonfrom harm’s way. What happened later was out of our control. Isuspect a few of the gods all joined in the game. How you andAquitain survived has amazed me. I guess the Lady is much better atthe game than I thought.’
‘Let’s get back to the little people. This is important. Whodid Ishteth deal with?’ she asked.
‘I think his name was canni or something similar.’ hereplied.
‘Could it have been Kami?’ she asked.
‘Yes that sounds like it.’ he replied.
‘Damn! We’ve all been set up by the cunning little snakes. Ididn’t really believe Granite when he told me how sneaky theywere.’ she ranted.
‘What do you mean?’ he asked.
‘I have discovered that the elemental dragons have bred truesince the beginning of time and they are each endowed with adivinity seed and have a deep distrust of the gods who covet theseseeds.’ said Miranlla.
‘Aquitain is a hybrid stone dragon with a divinity seed. Isuspect they will see him as more than just an embarrassment butperhaps a danger to their monopoly of divinity seeds. They probablywant him dead and the gods will want him alive to produce moreseeds. If Aquitain has no father he has no protection and he isdead. His only chance is to have K’wala recognize him but K’wala isa wild spirit that generally dislikes the gods except for theLady.’
‘I think the Lady has known about K’wala and Borse for yearsbut has waited until now to do something. Why would she do thatunless it was part of a plan?’
‘Hmm. I think I’ve got it! I’ll bet Aquitain was no accident!He was planned from the very start by the Lady. She has somethingspecific in mind for him that only a stone dragon can do. None ofthem trust her so she created a hybrid that might trust her enoughso that she can get the job done. That means she thinks K’wala willaccept Aquitain as a son. I have to help convince K’wala!’ shesaid.
‘Miranlla there is another possibility. Perhaps the Lady istrying to create a new source of divinity seeds for herself. If youand Aquitain were to have children then you would be the mother ofa whole new crop of immortals.’ said Granddad.
‘Granddad you’re right and Tigerlilly is the first of them. OhLady what are you doing?’ she cried.
At that momentFeatherdown walked into the tent and saw the look a look of horroron Miranlla’s face.
‘What’s wrong! He asked.
‘The little people have been involved in Aquitain’s quest fromthe start. They were a part of a charade to toughen him up for lifeafter he was separated from his father. Much of the chaos aroundthe world has been their doing I suspect. The little bastards havebeen playing us like a lute.’
‘By the Powers, you could be right. They were present at allthe chaotic event locations that I had my wizards investigate. Oneof my wizards even suggested that the little people might beinvolved but I refused to believe it. That also might explain whathappened to Aquitain when he went to help the water elementals onthe other continent. He found out that the problem was being causedby a herder which is a type of aquatic little person.’ hereplied.
‘If that’s the case we’ve been set up. We’re here to help thembut they have a hidden agenda. I wonder what it could be? Thismeeting could be livelier than we imagined. I better inform theking and I’ll make sure Helix is here for a start and I’ll work outa contingency plan in case things do turn bad.’
‘Featherdown I’m worried that they might want to break thePact of Renewal. I’ve been told that it’s the only thing stoppingthe Panmagicans and Yith from fighting. I think that if thathappens then we may have total chaos.’ She said.
‘Hmm. They are offering a pretty attractive alliance to theking. I’ll talk to him but I think he’s already made up his mind. Idon’t think he cares much for the Pact anyway.’
Granddad andFeatherdown left to discuss a contingency plan with the king andMiranlla dropped to her knees and prayed fervently to the Lady.
A message fromthe Lady echoed in her mind.
‘Don’t worry Miranlla I have faith in you.’
She stood upannoyed.
‘Faith. How am I expected to have faith when I discover thegods and immortals all have hidden plans to use and abuse us? Whenpeople we call friends are full of lies and deceit!’
Chapter 44 Friends andEnemies
Miranlla sat in theposition that Aquitain used for meditation and began singing themantra and before she knew it, the night had passed and the morningdawned. She thought of praying to the Lady but decided againstit.
All herproblems seemed to be originating from the Lady. Aquitain was rightshe was a tool of the Lady but now both the hazards and the rewardswere clearer. Tigerlilly and any more children they might havecould become immortals. Now that was worth fighting for!
‘Oh by the Lady can I now trust Rori?’ shewondered.
Featherdown andGranddad were edgy as they hadn’t slept much, Quab drank half abottle of mead and was quite happy. Heteronymous the King was in ajovial mood accompanied by Red Wizard, two senior druids and eightfighters. Featherdown wore
